2012 MLB Season

[ninersdd]

Travis Wood today: 7 Innings, 3 hits, 1 run surrendered, but gets the loss. Definitely a tough time to be a Cubbie.

[McCall]

Cardinals score!! Cardinals score!!

The first two innings of today's Jays-Red Sox game were crazy.

I was honestly surprised Bard didn't get tossed after injuring Escobar and Encarnacion.

I only caught a glimpse of Escobar but saw Encarnacion and it was obvious it wasn't intentional. Bard just couldn't control the ball at all when he was out there.

I haven't seen a replay of it yet, I was at the game.

It obviously wasn't the ump that threw Alvarez out for brushing a guy with a 2-2 count and 2 out in a blowout inning with no prior warning or history, then.

Huh?

[BigBubba]

Cardinals score!! Cardinals score!!

The first two innings of today's Jays-Red Sox game were crazy.

I was honestly surprised Bard didn't get tossed after injuring Escobar and Encarnacion.

I only caught a glimpse of Escobar but saw Encarnacion and it was obvious it wasn't intentional. Bard just couldn't control the ball at all when he was out there.

I haven't seen a replay of it yet, I was at the game.

It obviously wasn't the ump that threw Alvarez out for brushing a guy with a 2-2 count and 2 out in a blowout inning with no prior warning or history, then.

Huh?

In a Blue Jays game a few weeks ago, Henderson Alvarez had been blown up in an inning with horrendous command and was just trying to get out. So with a 2-2 count and 2 out, he plunked the guy by accident, and was thrown out without a warning (it was the first hit batter of the game). It was a reference that I only expected sportstar to get, which probably isn't the best idea on a board with fans from all around. Carry on.

[NJTank]

Just getting back from Citi field. They had the singer from creed doing gird bleeds amehricer is it me or does he sound like the Swedish chef.

[Funky Bunky]

Just getting back from Citi field. They had the singer from creed doing gird bleeds amehricer is it me or does he sound like the Swedish chef.

...god bless america? Are you trying to make it sound like the guy from creed, or are your fingers just too fat to type on your phone, again?

[Billy B]

I hate Carlos Zambrano, but he is a prime example of why the NL game is so great. He can pitch, but also has all the ability and power of an everyday hitter. 24 career home runs. He said he takes hitting very seriously and it shows and it's awesome when you see a pitcher doing something great with the bat.

He scored more runs than he gave up tonight which is pretty cool. He might not be the best hitting pitcher in the league because it seems he swings for the fences every at bat, but it's sure fun to watch.

[NJTank]

Just getting back from Citi field. They had the singer from creed doing gird bleeds amehricer is it me or does he sound like the Swedish chef.

...god bless america? Are you trying to make it sound like the guy from creed, or Just your fingers just too fat to type on your phone, again?

No the guy from creed sung gurd blurss amehicer. Not god bless america

[The_Admiral]

I thought perhaps Tank went Boston Brahmin on us. Playing the tuber.

[Sport]

The Cardinals are as cold now as they were hot to start the season.

/Tim McCarver

[STL FANATIC]

The Cardinals are as cold now as they were hot to start the season.

/Tim McCarver

As good as the Cardinals were in the first month of the season, that's how as bad they are now.

/FamilyGuy/TimMcCarver

[The_Admiral]

Wasn't McCarver a fairly competent broadcaster at one point? I've seen a few snippets of games he was calling where he didn't appear to be an addled, ill-prepared fool. Of course, the entire Fox presentation is so terrible that no one can be good; trying to step out of the morass just somehow pulls you in deeper.

[STL FANATIC]

Wasn't McCarver a fairly competent broadcaster at one point? I've seen a few snippets of games he was calling where he didn't appear to be an addled, ill-prepared fool. Of course, the entire Fox presentation is so terrible that no one can be good; trying to step out of the morass just somehow pulls you in deeper.

He probably was, but I'm not old enough to remember it. But he's been doing it for so long at the highest level, that I imagine at some point he earned it. He's also not as bad as people make him out to be (few announcers are). My quote comes from Family Guy, I don't know if McCarthy was going for the same thing, but I assume he was. So that's an exaggeration of anything he'd actually say.

He says some silly things and is no wordsmith, but he's still got decent insights into games.

One of the favorite pastimes of the modern day sports fan is to hate on announcers, though. If you're not talking about a play-by-play guy over 60 who you've been told repeatedly is a legend, then surely whoever you're talking about is awful.

Vin Scully, Dick Enberg, Jack Buck (deceased), Harry Kalas (deceased). There's a few others I'm leaving out, because I'm not in their market or old, but those are basically the only good announcers ever. Everyone else is awful. People tell me repeatedly.

I'm not on that bandwagon. I think there's a lot of great announcers right now who should some day be held in similar regard (but I don't know if the negative culture will ever allow it).

Joe Buck, Bob Costas, Dan Schulman (finally getting a bigger role with ESPN--he's great). I think they're all fantastic calling games, and I think there's a reason why they're at the pinnacle of their industry. You don't get and remain there without talent.

It also occurs on a local level. I don't know if it's that way in everyone else's locales, but in St. Louis, people love to rip on our announcing team (though Hrabosky may deserve it). I think they've got a star in Dan McLaughlin (if he can maintain his sobriety), but there's a large continent of fans who think he's terrible.

Now, Tim McCarver isn't a play-by-play guy, and in truth, I could do without his oddities (though I like him ok), but it was a great jumping off point for a rant.

[The_Admiral]

You can't forget Bob Uecker! One of the best. Marty Brennaman is really good at calling a game, but he's kind of a wad.

Off the top of my head, I'd say Jon Miller, Pat Hughes, John Rooney, Duane Kuiper, and Denny Matthews would all be held in high regard for years to come. I'll give you Costas and Shulman, but there's no apologizing for Joe Buck in either sport.

I don't think the video exists anymore, but it was called "Buck to the Future" and featured hypothetical Joe Buck calls of great moments in sports. The Miracle on Ice was reduced to something like "and with that, the Americans will advance to the gold medal game against Finland," and some World Cup moment was, predictably but no less hilariously, "Goal."

[NJTank]

Yes he was. In the 80's when he first worked with the Mets he was very insightful, or maybe it was because I was a kid at the time and not knowing better. However, by the time he got to Fox he was sickening.

[McCall]

My issue with McCarver is he makes a statement as if he's informing everybody of something that no one knows, when in reality we all do... especially since it's usually immediately after Joe Buck says it. I usually find that when he's just actually saying what's coming to his mind without thinking about it first is when he's at his best.

Joe is good, but he went big time so quickly that now he almost seems kind of lazy with it because he's the guy now, and he doesn't need to try very hard. Out of all the "newer" play-by-play guys, I think Schulman's the best. He's not an idiot, has a great voice for it, and he keeps up well with what's going on in the game. You don't hear him, or not hear him, taking a couple pitches off, just leaving it silent, and then coming back on as if he's been talking the whole time.

[RyanMcD29]

You know, I was just thinking last night how I actually wouldn't mind ESPN/ABC getting the rights to the playoffs with the Sunday Night Baseball crew calling the World Series. If the Yankees or Sox aren't brought up they're quite good with their announcing. The Monday Night crew's pretty good too.

Actually, anybody besides Fox in 2014 would be a nice breath of fresh air when it comes to the broadcast TV deal

[The_Admiral]

Remember 2004? That was his tour de force of dumb. You had Brandon Arroyo, "a walk is as good as a home run," "baseball is a game of inch," and god knows what else. How bad can he be now?

[McCall]

You know, I was just thinking last night how I actually wouldn't mind ESPN/ABC getting the rights to the playoffs with the Sunday Night Baseball crew calling the World Series. If the Yankees or Sox aren't brought up they're quite good with their announcing. The Monday Night crew's pretty good too.

Actually, anybody besides Fox in 2014 would be a nice breath of fresh air when it comes to the broadcast TV deal

Well, maybe replace Francona. Honestly, I don't think he's that great on the air. As an "analyst" on like Baseball Tonight or something, he's not as bad. But I just find he doesn't really have the knack for doing color commentary.

With McCarver, I find my most common thought is, "No S***, Tim."

[STL FANATIC]

You can't forget Bob Uecker! One of the best. Marty Brennaman is really good at calling a game, but he's kind of a wad.

Off the top of my head, I'd say Jon Miller, Pat Hughes, John Rooney, Duane Kuiper, and Denny Matthews would all be held in high regard for years to come. I'll give you Costas and Shulman, but there's no apologizing for Joe Buck in either sport.

I don't think the video exists anymore, but it was called "Buck to the Future" and featured hypothetical Joe Buck calls of great moments in sports. The Miracle on Ice was reduced to something like "and with that, the Americans will advance to the gold medal game against Finland," and some World Cup moment was, predictably but no less hilariously, "Goal."

Those are definitely some good ones. Marty Brennaman is a punk, but he may be good at the play-by-play.

I have the unpopular opinion that Joe Buck is indeed great at what he does. I can agree that he rarely gets overly excited, but that's never bothered me. He's calm, fairly neutral (he KNOWS more about the Cardinals than any team and that shows, but I've never felt like he really roots), and typically understated. He tends to let the moment do the talking. To me, that's not such a bad thing. It sure beats a Jim Nantz pre-determined pun.

I think back to Joe's two calls of the Cardinals World Series championships.

"For the first time since 1982, St. Louis has a World Series winner." Perfectly calm. A subtle nod to his father's "That's A Winner! That's A Winner! A World Series Winner for the Cardinals!" in '82, but in his own style. And then he lets the moment take over.

"What a team! What a ride! The Cardinals are World Champs in 2011." And then, again, he let's the moment take the stage.

I can understand if that's not your cup of tea, but it certainly doesn't bother me. I don't need an announcer trying to be the moment. Just need him to call the action. Joe does that.

[TheOldRoman]

Remember 2004? That was his tour de force of dumb. You had Brandon Arroyo, "a walk is as good as a home run," "baseball is a game of inch," and god knows what else. How bad can he be now?

He had several "gems" in 2005. "Oswalt is a drop-and-drive pitcher. What is a drop-and-drive pitcher? Well, basically, he drops and drives." There were a bunch more from the ALCS I can't think of off the top of my head.

And of course, more ironic than purely dumb, when talking about Brad Lidge giving up the bomb to Pujols,"I think the taste has left his mouth" with the bat crack of Podsednik's walk-off homer coming a split second after he finished that sentence.